1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an oximeter probe that is to be fitted on the skin of a subject to determine photoelectrically the oxygen saturation of hemoglobin in a sample of blood flowing through the tissue of the skin.
2. Related Art
An oximeter probe of the type contemplated by the present invention comprises typically a sheet of adhesive tape that has a light-emitting diode (LED) as a light-emitting device and a photodiode (PD) as a light-receiving device spaced from each other on the adhesive surface of the tape by a distance of about 10 to 30 mm. When the LED is switched on after the adhesive tape is attached to the skin of a human subject, light from the LED illuminates blood vessels in the skin tissue and the reflected light is received by the PD, with the change in the quantity of light reception being used as a basis for determining the oxygen saturation of a sample of blood flowing through the blood vessels.
A problem with this prior art oximeter probe is that the heat generated by the LED accumulates inside the adhesive tape to potentially cause "low-temperature burn" on the skin of the subject.